Rafael was fifteen years old when his mother died and put him out of her misery. Rain poured down on the mourners huddled under umbrellas in the small kibbutz cemetery. Tuvia, Rafael's father, sobbed bitterly. He had cared for his wife devotedly for years and now looked lost and bereft. Rafael, wearing shorts, stood apart from the others and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his eyes so that no one would know he wasn't crying. He thought: Now that she's dead, she can see all the things I thought of her.
***
On a kibbutz in Israel in 2008, Gili is celebrating the ninetieth birthday of her grandmother Vera, the adored matriarch of a sprawling and tight-knit family. But festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Nina: the iron-willed daughter who rejected Vera's care; and the absent mother who abandoned Gili when she was still a baby.
Nina's return to the family after years of silence precipitates an epic journey from Israel to the desolate island of Goli Otok, formerly part of Yugoslavia. It was here, five decades earlier, that Vera was held and tortured as a political prisoner. And it is here that the three women will finally come to terms with the terrible moral dilemma that Vera faced, and that permanently altered the course of their lives.
More Than I Love My Life is a sweeping story about the power of love and loving with courage. A novel driven by faith in humanity even in our darkest moments, it asks us to confront our deepest held beliefs about a woman's duty to herself and to her children.
***
When I read David Grossman's book, Man Walks Into Bar, in 2017, I thought it was one of the best books I had ever read, and I maintain that opinion. You can read my review of it by clicking here. Whilst I would not claim the same for this book, it really isn't far behind.
Essentially, this book is the story of three generations of women, Vera, Nina and Gili. Three women who were all loved by Rafael; three women who's lives were affected by grandmother Vera's, experience of the second world war.
When they come together on a kibbutz in Israel for Vera's nintieth birthday, this hugely dysfunctional family find an opportunity to face the past and to consider the impact that the past, with all of it's secrets, has had upon their relationship with one another. They travel together, along with Raphael, who is Vera's stepson, Nina's husband and Gili's mother, to make a film about Vera's time in the Goli Otok camp.
Whilst there, we witness the intensity of Vera's experience and come to understand how it shaped the lives of all three women. Her recollections do not make for easy reading but the author brings them vividly to life in a non gratuitous way. He handles the telling of her experiences with sensitivity and empathy.
In fact, it is based upon a true story of a woman who was imprisoned and tortured at the barren Goli Otok camp for the purpose of re-education in the 1950's. The author's description of the island is both detailed and atmospheric.
This is an intense book that is well worth reading. I very much want to read more of Mr. Grossman's work and I highly recommend this one.
ISBN: 978 1787332935
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Formats: Hardcover, e-book and audio.
No. of Pages: 288 (hardback)
David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and has been translated into thirty languages around the world. He is the recipient of many prizes, including the French Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Buxtehuder Bulle in Germany, Rome’s Premio per la Pace e l’Azione Umitaria, the Premio Ischia— International Award for Journalism, Israel’s Emet Prize, and the Albatross Prize given by the Günter Grass Foundation.
(author photo and bio info courtesy of Amazon)
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